Did you know that the current "1955 Anchor, P. 51" is inverted?
But, the power house was not at that end of the stadium seats; it was on
the 32nd Street end of the stadium.
If you invert the image, you get:

Now ... THAT looks right, doncha think?

- Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA
- 01/14/05
WOWZERONI!!! Thanks, David!
I still don't know how you were able to correct that faulty image after 49
years,
but I'll chalk it up to a combination of your magical abilities
and that fact that you are a graduate of the United States Naval Academy.

The Memories:

Hi Carol;
I was checking out the Newsletters and I came to the Great Fire.
My dad was the Head of the Custodial Staff, and I remember the fire and the
clean-up.
It was quite a mess and I sure remember the damage. We were living in
Marshall Courts Apartments
at the time.
I would go over to the school with my dad in the afternoons during the
clean-up, what a mess.

-
Catherine Slusser Hudson ('64) of VA - 01/15/05
WOW! Thanks, Cathy!

On Monday, December 29, 1952,
when people rose to read the morning paper they found an article telling
of the destruction of the interior of Newport News High School by fire. As
stated by the Daily Press, the fire
was reported in the school at 10:10 PM, Sunday, December 28, 1952. The fire
started in the auditorium and
spread rapidly, being fed by the curtains, props, and seats. The fire
eventually spread to the roof at the rear
of the auditorium causing it to collapse. The damage was confined to the
center of the building, although
both wings did sustain a considerable amount of damage from smoke, heat, and
water. As of press time
on the 29th, the cause of the fire had not yet been determined although the
police were investigating arson.
In the December 30th edition of the Daily Press, it was reported that
burglary appeared to be a motive for the
fire as an attempt had been made to open the safe in the Principal's office.
The damage from the fire was
estimated in excess of $500,000. By the following day, the 31st, more
information emerged about the night
of the fire. It seems that some of the classrooms had been ransacked before
the fire. It was also reported that
the school would re-open January 12, 1953. At the time of the fire the
school was valued at $2,000,000 and,
insured as much, was satisfactorily covered for all the damages done by the
fire. Finally the Saturday, January
3rd edition of the Daily Press reported that three young boys had confessed
to the fire as well as the Sherwin
Williams Paint Store and the C&O Warehouse. The boys, aged 9, 11, and 13,
described the events of the night
of the fire. First they broke the glass in a rear door to get in. Then using
a candle for light they tried to open the
safe. When they thought they heard someone coming, they threw the candle
down on the auditorium floor and left
by the back door. The destruction of the auditorium caused problems for
others than those of the school community,
as it had been the community's meeting place. Now other arrangements had to
be made until it could be rebuilt.

For reasons that were never made clear, the renovation of the auditorium did
not take place until two years later
in 1954. It is safe to assume, however, that as other renovations and
additions were necessary, they decided
to hold up all of the work until the total sum necessary could be obtained
and all of the work done at the same
time. The auditorium that burned was on the second floor and designed to
hold 1250 people. The new auditorium
was designed by the architectural firm of Carneal & Johnson of Richmond and
did away with the balcony.

- Bill Gross ('48) of VA -
01/19/05

WOWZERONI!!! What a revelation!
I spent my whole life believing this was a deliberate arson by a gang of
disgruntled teenage delinquents,
and instead, it was a bungled robbery attempt by three little boys!
Thanks so much, Bill!

CHORUS We Didn't Start the
FireIt was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say

CHORUSWe Didn't Start the FireIt was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it